Q&A: Foundation film delegation explores India's vibrant film industry
For New Zealand filmmaker Amanda Jane Robinson, the streets of India were “wildly cinematic” – with a story waiting to be discovered around every corner and in every face. In June, Amanda was one of five screen creatives the Foundation took to India to attend the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), connect with the local film industry and build relationships with fellow filmmakers. The group were joined by the editor of the New Zealand Listener, Kirsty Cameron, who documented the visit. The trip was part of the Foundation’s Arts Delegation Programme, which supports New Zealand arts decision-makers to develop meaningful, long-term connections with key organisations, events and creative communities across Asia. In this article we chat with Amanda about the visit and what it revealed to her about filmmaking, both in India and at home in New Zealand.
The centrepiece of the visit was attending the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF)
Why did you want to take part in the screen creatives India trip?
I've long been interested in art from India, from the films of Satyajit Ray and Payal Kapadia to the architecture of B.V. Doshi to textiles and vintage Indian graphic design and advertising. It always felt like somewhere I'd love to visit but that may be challenging on my own.
The opportunity to go with a creative delegation removed a barrier of difficulty navigating local processes and customs and also allowed for doors to be opened with arts and screen organisations the Asia New Zealand Foundation already had relationships with.
What was it like being on the ground in India?
I've never been anywhere as wildly cinematic. Life is lived so publicly in a way that feels very different from New Zealand. I think we were all struck by the wealth disparity. Of course it was intense, sensorially — all the colours and textures and smells and sounds and tastes, the heat and humidity on the cusp of monsoon season, but that all felt rich and alive and invigorating to be a part of.
What was it like attending the Mumbai International Film Festival
Amanda: "It was incredible to see how the festival functions as a hub for audiences, filmmakers and the wider screen industry."
It was incredible to see how the festival functions as a hub for audiences, filmmakers and the wider screen industry.
I found it delightfully novel to take an elevator up to the fifth floor of a building which from the outside appeared to be a generic office building and instead find it open up to a cinema. And even more delightful than that, to find a full audience in that space in the middle of a weekday to watch a programme of regional language short films.
The best film I saw at the festival was Milan Kumar's The Old Bull Knows, Or Once Knew, which was part of a Marathi language shorts programme.
It is a black and white 13-minute documentary short following an aging sacred bull on his last day in the village he had lived his entire life in before being retired and sent to a shelter, forcing his old caretaker to farewell him, mirroring the slow disappearance of the nomadic Nandiwale community and their way of life. It was poetic and stunning, and I've kept thinking about it since.
The delegates visiting the Whistling Woods International Film School in Mumbai
What was the standout place you visited?
Visiting the arts venue G5A Warehouse is what stands out the most. It's a creative hub in the mill district founded by architect Anuradha Parikh that curates experimental programmes across film, theatre, music and performance and also has a restaurant and shop and beautiful garden rooftop that functions as extended seating for the restaurant.
The venue hosts artists in residence and workshops and the team runs a literary and culture magazine. It is a beautiful space for independent artists across disciplines to connect and come together, with truly exciting programming. Their cinema team and the filmmakers we met who have exhibited there were so lovely and generous.
Why is it important to experience firsthand what’s happening in the industry outside of New Zealand?
I love the artists of Aotearoa, and I think being a small island at the bottom of the globe has incredible advantages, but it also has its drawbacks. I think it's important to take time to zoom out and gain some understanding of how artists make work within other contexts.
I keep thinking about all the independent cinema coming out of India and that it is all done without national government grants. It has made me at once appreciative of our government arts funding bodies and eager to explore alternative arts funding avenues. I also just feel it's vital to engage with art in all forms from all around the world as a reminder of how connected we all really are, despite distance.
How was it experiencing India alongside other screen creatives?
Amanda: "Every single person in this delegation was game, which happens to be my favourite quality in people I'm travelling with."
Getting to know the other screen creatives was such a highlight of this trip.
Watching Joyce Wong hustle meetings with dozens of local filmmakers and screen organisations, watching Micah Winiata ask all the right questions at every opportunity, watching Samson Rambo conduct meetings with such style and grace, and watching Quinn Wilson on his first ever international trip take everything in his stride was incredibly motivating.
New Zealand Listener editor Kirsty Cameron [who joined the delegation to document the visit] brought such a fun, inquisitive energy to the group. Asia New Zealand Foundation's Craig Cooper led with such generosity and care. Our local fixer, arts practitioner Aaron Fernandes, gave us such useful local context that guided our visit.
Every single person in this delegation was game, which happens to be my favourite quality in people I'm travelling with.
How do you think the experience might influence your career/work going forward?
I feel confident this experience will have influence over my work in many ways I'm likely not even aware of yet.
For now, I keep coming back to two things. Firstly, I've been reflecting a lot on the tenacity artists have to pursue making their work in the absence of governmental support. That feels especially relevant with local arts funding cuts here in New Zealand.
Secondly, I was moved by the value placed on beauty in daily life.
Years ago I read Elaine Scarry's On Beauty and Being Just in which she resists political arguments that have long been put forward against beauty: that it is something for the privileged alone, or that it distracts us from more important issues.
In her writing, she instead argues that admiring the beautiful is nothing to be ashamed of; that on the contrary beauty fosters the spirit of justice.
Between the hand-painted water tankers, pink buildings, women in silk saris of chartreuse or magenta, personalised taxi interiors, intricate mosque facades, streetside night-blooming jasmine, walking and driving around Mumbai it was hard to ignore beauty as a valued, vital facet of ordinary life, independent of class or industry.
I think that's something we often neglect in New Zealand, so it was a timely reminder. One more thing, too: sweet-salty fresh lime soda was a revelation and will be fuelling me until the end of time.
About Amanda
Amanda Jane Robinson is a filmmaker from Aotearoa New Zealand and the founder of Vetiver Pictures. Most recently she produced short film In Conversation with Jack Maurer, directed by Hash, which premiered at Venice Film Festival. In 2025 she also premiered short film Womb, directed by Ira Hetaraka, in competition at Tribeca Festival. Womb has since played numerous festivals including Melbourne, Sydney, London and NZIFF where it won New Zealand's Best Short Film Award. In November 2025 Amanda won SPADA's Big Pitch competition. She currently works in partnerships at Letterboxd and as a programmer for NZIFF.
Read New Zealand Listener editor Kirsty Cameron's account of the visit:
The Foundation's arts programme brings Asia into the mainstream of New Zealand arts by inspiring New Zealand arts professionals to grow their connections and knowledge of Asia. It also supports the presentation of Asian arts in partnership with New Zealand arts organisations and events.
The Arts Delegation Programme supports New Zealand arts decision-makers to build meaningful, long-term relationships with key organisations and events across Asia.
